Saturday, January 05, 2008

Special coins to honour Princess

Commemorative coins to honour the life and work of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana will be produced later this year, Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said yesterday

The money for the coins will come out of a 200-million-baht state budget that had been set aside for activities to mark the 84th birthday of the late Princess. Many state activities scheduled to mark Princess Galyani's birthday have been cancelled but some, such as the commemorative coins and a mass ordination ceremony, will go ahead.

Mr Paiboon, who is also the Social Development and Human Security Minister, said more than 151 million baht of the money that had been set aside for the activities will be returned to the Budget Bureau.

Some 141 projects were held to celebrate the late Princess' birthday last year.

In Narathiwat, more than 1,000 Muslim representatives and imams from 617 mosques in 13 districts signed condolence books and attended a mass prayer for the late Princess at Narathiwat's central mosque yesterday.

A similar event, chaired by Yala governor Theera Minthrasak, also took place at Yala's central mosque. Yala's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives staff, local residents, students and rangers made a mass blood donation in a tribute to the late Princess yesterday.

In Kanchanaburi, soldiers at the 9th Infantry Division at the Surasri military camp also made a mass blood donation, while over 100 Muslims in Tha Muang district attended prayers for the late Princess at Kanchanaburi's central mosque.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, scores of elderly women from a local rest home took part in a memorial ceremony at the provincial hall in Muang district yesterday and more than 5,000 residents of Bua Yai took part in a mass meditation ritual.

In Chiang Rai, people flocked to Mae Fah Luang University to attend an exhibition on the Princess at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Chinese Culture and Language Centre.

In Ranong, a medical unit under the Princess Mother's Medical Volunteer Foundation vowed to fulfil the social commitments championed by the late Princess by providing medical assistance to disadvantaged people in remote areas.